I Almost Got Arrested!

?I had a very unpleasant experience last week when I had my psychological exam for Social Security. This is my second application with Social Security - the first one is under appeal.

Anyway, my appointment with Dr. Disrespectful was originally scheduled for 4:45 p.m.
He called me at 2:30 p.m. and indicated he didn’t have any more appointments
scheduled that day until mine. He asked me if I wanted to come in earlier.

Even though I had an appraiser at the house (we are re-financing our house so that we
can afford to stay there), as a courtesy and kindness to Dr. Disrespectful, I indicated I could
come at 3 p.m. Since I only live 2 blocks from his office, I walked there.

When I got to his office and went into his waiting room, there were two gentlemen there,
a younger man (born in 1970) and his father. Dr. Disrespectful called me in at 3:05 p.m. and
appeared to be in a hurry to get through his psych. exam form. He talked very fast and
spent 30 minutes with me. Then he was done. I asked him how much time Social
Security allowed for appointments and he indicated 45 minutes, so I asked him to give
me 10 more minutes so that I could tell him more about my life living with Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. I wanted to give him more details about my life
with CFS and Fibro. and how limited my life is. I wanted to tell him why I had thoughts
of suicide. He had gone through his psych. form so fast and talked so fast that I felt
rushed during the interview, and I had wanted to tell him things I had thought of that I
felt he should know.

Dr. Disrespectful refused to talk to me any more and indicated if he did, it would turn into a
counseling session, which was not allowed. I told him I didn’t need or want any
counseling but I wanted 10 more minutes of his time, that I was entitled to it. He
refused. I then refused to leave his office until he would let me talk.

Dr. Disrespectful then went into his waiting room at 3:35 p.m. and conducted his exam of the
other patient, the younger man born in 1970. Dr. Disrespectful left the door between his
office and the waiting room open about 8 inches and I heard EVERYTHING he said and
EVERYTHING his patient said. I heard about his patient going to a particular restaurant in town
and then to the liquor store until 2 a.m., playing Texas Hold Em and Karaoke. I heard
minute details about this patient's life, such as he goes into the refrigerator and grabs a
hot dog to eat, and spaghetti, but he only eats part of it. I heard Dr. Disrespectful ask this
patient questions about his learning disability.

Dr. Disrespectful spent about 40 minutes with this patient and then came back into his office
and told me to leave. It was now 4:15 p.m. and I repeated to him that I was entitled to
another 10 minutes but he refused to listen to me. I told him that his report would affect
the rest of my life and I was entitled to 10 more minutes. He said he had to leave and
started clearing up his desk, etc. He said if I didn’t leave, he would call the police, which
he did.

He spent about 10 minutes on the phone with the police department, waiting for the
officers to arrive. Now, he could have spent that 10 minutes listening to me. I wasn’t
asking for advice or counseling or anything, I just wanted to tell him more about living
with CFS and Fibro. He told me he had been conducting these exams for Social
Security for 10 years and he knew more than I did. I told him he didn’t know anything
about CFS or Fibro. and that I wasn’t looking for counseling because counseling would
not change the way people and Social Security treated me, like I was a liar and a cheat
and wasn’t really sick. I was very upset and crying but he would not let me talk.

Two local police officers then arrived and I still insisted on talking to Dr. Disrespectful for
another 10 minutes, which he would not do. I was then escorted into the waiting room
by one officer, and the other officer talked to Dr. Disrespectful. With the door shut.

I was still upset and crying and was telling the police officer how awful it is to live with
CFS and how I couldn’t get Social Security because I wore earrings and got my hair cut
twice last year. I told him it upset me the way I was treated because of my illness and it
made me think of suicide. The officer knew my husband (we live in a small town) and tried to comfort me. By then I was totally disgusted and told the officers I would go home. They offered me a ride and I eventually took it as it was bitterly cold and my legs were hurting. (I usually take two Lyrica around 4 p.m., then my bedtime meds at 5 p.m.)

The officer took me home and came into the house to speak with my husband because he was concerned about me hurting myself. He was concerned about my talk of suicide, although apparently Dr. Disrespectful was not.

I am getting to the breaking point about the Social Security and LTD issues. I cannot
stand the way I was treated by the doctor that my LTD insurance co. had me see in May, like I am a stupid child who isn’t really sick. If I’m not sick, that must make me a liar and a cheat.
The Physical Therapist I had to see for the LTD insurance co. had the nerve to ask me, what was I going to do in this “fair city” after my appointment, was I going to go shopping, etc. He
asked me this on the second day of my exam, after I had performed physical tests and
was hurting and tired. He didn’t believe me when I said I was in pain. The next day I
could hardly walk!

I wrote to my LTD attorney and told him my two concerns:

1. I think Dr. Disrespectful should be reported for violating HIPAA and the laws of
privacy. (I learned about HIPAA when I was a child support officer as we had to
take training and tests about it.)

2. I don’t think Dr. Disrespectful is qualified to do examinations for patients with CFS or
Fibromyalgia, maybe not for anyone. I don’t think 30 minutes going over a form
as fast as you can is sufficient to determine if someone is depressed or not. I
think Social Security should at least schedule patients with psychologists who
have a working knowledge of what CFS and Fibro. are and what the symptoms
are and how depression is involved. I don’t think a one-size-fits-all form is
proper.

My husband got a copy of the police report and I sent it to my attorney.

I feel foolish and humiliated for having had gone through this. I think it was totally
unnecessary and could have been avoided had Dr. Disrespectful known what he was doing.

My husband's medical insurance doesn't pay much for anything. I pay $150 out of pocket for doctor visits. I'm sure a psychologist or psychiatrist would cost the same.

However, there is good news! I just found out last week that my husband and I qualify for a program through our health care provider. Our income is just under the limit, by $800 a year, and we will no longer have to pay out of pocket for services through our medical provider. As soon as we are approved, I will look around for a qualifying counseler.

the good thing is, you did not get arrested, so therefore, i believe the policemen believed you were NOT in the wrong for what you did. they probably thought the doctor was in the wrong for calling them. so HE is the one who should feel foolish and humiliated, not you!

sorry you had to go through all that. hopefully it will be a help in your case, to have it documented that you were mistreated by their doctor.

i think you should definately make the effort to report him to someone, so that it is also on record.

I don't blame you for staying, just to show Mr. Disrespectful you were not going to let him get away with it easy. I once was referred to a psychiatrist from my counselor. It was supposed to be to evaluate my sleeping meds. etc.

Something was wrong because he was the nastiest person and very intimidating. I could not wait to not walk but run from there. He was also asking HIS questions and I could only give some brief answer, rush, rush, rush - they when he was done the big fool sat back and announced I was either bi polar or ADD. Please....

I don't believe I would ever cross the path of a psychiatrist again unless it was a car accident,

Your post reads well, it is coherent and follows a logical time line and is well written punctually. This is not the posting of someone who is mentally ill.

It is the posting of a normal person exhausted after years of suffering ( the average person cannot understand how exhausted...literally the same as if you had been tortured off and on for this amount of time ) and then being emotionally abused by a doctor on top of it!

I have had so many visit's like yours in the last 3 years ( after hardly ever seeing doctors the first 54 years of my life and never feeling humilated when I did go to them ) ... and I have read hundreds of similar stories on this board like yours over these 3 years.

After all this testimony I think we can logically and reasonably deduce that there are thousands of patients like us being treated like this all the time all over the country.

This is tragic and an injustice.

Since this kind of medical profession abuse is so common with so many in our area of affliction, isn't it screamingly obvious that it is time to organize and pool our resources and post full page ads in major publications reporting this and retelling actual true accounts like yours!

It is time ( way past due ) that anyone in the American medical community and system quit abusing us like this.

I am in intese pain all the time myself and in the last three years since all this started...I have experienced the exact same humiliating and spirit crushing nightmare you just described.
Different doctors and different specialties.

I am still going through this almost every time I go to doctors or our ER or our local Urgent Care.

The minute they see my records their tone changes and you can see the "oh,oh, a psyche case" light come on in their eyes. And their treatment reactions change from respectful and believing to the opposite of this and too often the most insulting, hurtful and what I would call, criminally unethical treatment and dismissing.

Certainly your experience was like this Petmora. I just had an experience like yours last month at a prestigious clinic here in California. I am going to post this as a seperate thread right after this. You may want to read this.

You know the old joke. The difference between God and a doctor is that God doesn't think he's a doctor.

When I worked in litigation, we had lists of doctors. We knew what their report would say before they wrote it. Dr. A would find Mr. America disabled. Dr. B would certify a corpse to go back to work. Dr. C found every patient slight to moderately disabled w/ prognosis guarded.

These DDs come w/ a syndrome alright. Doctors who can't help and don't understand. Friends who drift away. Family that is not sympathectic. Much better to break a leg, be briefly disabled, and heal.

I read your story and I'm so sorry for what happened. It's a very cruel world out there. It's a good thing that you knew the officer; believe me.

The "doctors" out there are like every other typical human beings; there are some good ones and some bad ones. Unfortunately, most of them are not so good. Maybe "bad" isn't a very good term but what I mean is, uncaring, sarcastic, etc.

Take care of yourself and I do wish you the best of luck with your situation; at least I can relate to the rest of the story with SSD.

His behavior was unprofessional, disrepsectful, unethical, unkind, possibly fraudulent and on and on and on. He should be reported to a number of agencies beginning with the SSA. If he is charging for 45 minutes and is actually providing less time then he is defrauding the people who pay his wages.

Not protecting his next client's privacy is criminal not to mention unconscionable. What a sleaze.

The words that came to mind as I read your post were "power struggle and control". He sounds like he could use some serious therapy.

I enjoyed reading the part about holding your ground. Pat yourself on the back! Don't let this go. Sounds you like you could give him a run for his money! I adore strong minded women.